under a cloud

Idioms  

1. Under suspicion, in trouble, or out of favor, as in Ever since his brother was accused of fraud, he's been under a cloud. This metaphoric expression calls up the image of a single black cloud hanging over an individual. [c. 1500]

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Example Sentences

Milton had left Nikola in 2020 under a cloud, and by 2022 had been convicted of defrauding the company’s investors with what prosecutors said were his repeated lies about the development of the company’s zero-emissions trucks and technology.

From The Wall Street Journal

But after two seasons with the Gophers, he left the program under a cloud.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wright told the court the reason he mentioned the retracted claims in his own statement was because "for four years I've lived under a cloud of the most despicable allegations it's possible to put to any journalist."

From BBC

The pair arrived in Milan under a cloud after Papadakis's book and the accusations against Fournier Beaudry's former partner.

From Barron's

Plenty knew Lord Mandelson was a big character, a risky pick, a man with a biography scattered with previous examples of departing high office under a cloud.

From BBC

Related Words

• dusky
• leafy
• screened
• sheltered